Engineering, It's not you, its me. Or is it?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hey all, happy holidays, I'd like to get y'all's opinion on this. I'm a 3/2 engineering student, and I already completed my liberal arts part, and just completed my first semester taking engineering classes at the second university. Result: my GPA bombed =(</p>

<p>It was tough getting here,having been at low points before to the point I lost my scholarship because my GPA was slightly below, and having perservered afterwards,kept trying, changed my study habits and skills, which with some luck led to various REU summer experiences, and an internship last spring.</p>

<p>So I was very excited to start all over at a new uni, have a chance to finally have a grand GPA knowing that I had experience, good study skills, and resources at this point. WRONG. </p>

<p>I am at a point in which I am unsure what I am doing wrong academically, or if I may have a learning disorder, or if I just simply suck, or aren't for engineering. I studied diligently over 40 hours a week, had a good balance by exercising and socializing. I performed with 90s and higher on my homeworks and labs. I tried forming study groups with my classmates to aid our learning. But when I took my midterms and my finals, I got 50s and significantly less than average, while the people I encouraged studying with and more, got As(I'm not having grudges, I am just demonstrating what is making me question my abilities).</p>

<p>Now I have less than a 2.5 GPA in engineering, unsure how I will get an summer internship this time, and in this field, and unsure how and what I can even change to perform better next semester (I have a year and a half left).</p>

<p>I know this is ranting, and you probably have better things to do, but I'd really like to know how I can improve this situation. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>A few things come to mind that could explain low test scores but high homework scores.</p>

<p>The first one is without these study groups, do you think you would be able to complete the homeworks on your own? In other words, by the time you and your group finish the assignment, do you feel you could go back and do a similar assignment but with different problems on your own? If not, you may not be pulling your own weight and using the groups as a crutch rather than a learning tool. Even when working in groups, you still should get to the point where should you have to do it on your own (say, on a test), you can. If not, you ought to re-evaluate how you do your group work.</p>

<p>The second is that maybe you are just a poor test-taker. That sounds clich</p>

3

<p>I agree with boneh3ad’s thoughts but I would like to add two more. These are things that I find are done wrong by students who struggle in engineering (and science classes).</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do you actually read the text books? There is a lot there that cannot be covered in lecture and you won’t get it unless you read it and really understand it. This means going over derivations on your own, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Do you do the homework in a way that will help you on the exams? If you are doing well on the homework but you do all the problems with the books open and referring to them all the time, then you are bound to have difficulty with tests. Try your homework with the book closed (after having read it, of course) and then open the book if you are stumped. Once you figure it out, then close the book and do the problem again (or others like it).</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Doing well in math, science and engineering requires you to organize the way you think about problems.</p>

4

<p>I usually do most of my work without groups, but the ones that i don’t understand, I can see where that is a problem. I think I may actually be a poor test taker, I’m thinking I might go to Academic advising, and maybe discuss this with them.</p>

<p>@xraymancs. I read the textbooks, but I usually do my homework with them open, I will definitely take into account your tips this new semester.</p>

<p>Thanks for this.</p>

5

<p>I check my work with others in case I make mistakes,but after 3 years of engineering, I usually study alone, especially for exams, because studying together for exams wastes too much time and doesn’t work out well.
I suggest reading the textbooks because it is more detailed, and make sure you can do all the homework without friends helping or using your notes.</p>

6

<p>I check my work with others in case I make mistakes,but after 3 years of engineering, I usually study alone, especially for exams, because studying together for exams wastes too much time and doesn’t work out well.
I suggest reading the textbooks because it is more detailed, and make sure you can do all the homework without friends helping or using your notes.</p>

7

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<p>Didn’t actually read your post, but the attitude expressed in the bolded above may be playing a role. Take some responsibility dude…</p>